OTHER THINGS IN THE WORLD THAN MUSIC > Computers, Internet and Technology

Label surface of pressed CD sloughing off?

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drone on:
I bought a used cd (silver, pressed, etc) and while attempting to remove some fingerprints on the label side with a sponge and water, the outer layer started peeling/sloughing off. This cd was made in the in the late 80s in the UK. After peeling in spots there's a different shade of silver below. Will this disc be unplayable at some point? I've read that label side damage can affect the laser reading the data. The disc plays with no errors so far.

Altus:
I think it goes without saying that you should back up/copy that disc ASAP. :o You're correct that the label side of the disc is very close to where the data actually resides. The bottom side is very thick in comparison.Given your description, I'm very surprised it reads at all. Is the artwork/silkscreen print coming off, or is there another layer on top? If the artwork is okay, that would explain why it still works.

drone on:
I just took it back to the store. The label wasn't peeling off, but a layer of silver was. I was surprised because this was a 4AD label album, made in UK, and their pressings were always really high quality. They did not use PDO, which is the UK company made infamous for "disc rot." I'm thinking maybe someone used a solvent on it and the material broke down as a result.